There is no “full commission” anymore, just as the term ” discount ” is irrelevant. … Heck, I even do pro bono work (sometimes not intentionally).
Posts tagged Buyers
Didn’t You Used to Do That for Free?
That’s the question my wife asked me a couple of weeks ago when I came home from an appointment where I provided a market analysis and advice/guidance for a seller preparing to put his home on the market. … It is beyond the time to start expressing that value. (even the Charlottesville bubble bloggers agree ) Setting potential customers’ and clients’ expectations is a start, not the least through my new services page .
Brilliant – a Comparative Realtor Analysis
DEFINED: Frankly CRA ™ technique where one agent can run a report to view the last 5-50 sales of the other agent . … Note this is just 1 of a dozen techniques to figure out a strategy to offer on a place.
Are homebuyers and sellers the only ones who need transportation?
Kaine thinks so . (thanks to Richmond Sunlight for pointing out this article ) Kaine is proposing a statewide 25-cent increase in the grantors tax, which is now 10 cents per $100 of assessed value, that owners pay on the sale of a house. … Make no mistake – Virginia’s (and the localities’) transportation systems need help; they need maintenance and they need new infrastructure – roads, bike paths, rail lines – but taxing only one segment of the population that uses the system is wrong.
Choosing the Right Buyer’s Agent in Charlottesville
Last week’s article in the Daily Progress was good, but as I told the journalist at the time – there is so much more I wanted to go into that article, and newspapers are so limited by what they can offer in print. They deal in inches, and for better or worse, bloggers don’t have those limitations. With that preface, this is one of things that didn’t make it in the article due in part to space limitations – My advice to buyers in the Charlottesville area –
Choose the right representation. Choose the right buyer’s agent. Choose someone whom you trust and get along with and like – not just because you met them at an open house, or because they have a blog, or because they are your sister’s husband’s friend who is just getting started and needs a break. Choosing the wrong representation is not just not worth it.
A good (great) buyer’s agent is someone who will advocate 100% on your behalf – simple. Contrary to public opinion, a good buyer’s agent is focused on the client’s needs more than their own. If you feel that “your” Realtor is focused more on the “sale” than your best interests – tell him.
Going waaay back in the archives to 2005, citing a WSJ article –
“Finding a real estate agent is kind of like dating. You have a small window to make an impression and then you’re with that person for a long time.
Here is my business philosophy when I work with buyers – I want to sell their house when they move. Every buyer client represents a minimum of three transactions –
1) The house they are buying right now.
2) That house when they move (everybody moves, even if “this is the last house I am going to buy”)
3) At least one of their friends or family when my clients proselytize for me
I work with Buyer-Broker agreements with my buyers for a variety of reasons – first and foremost because we negotiate my fee upfront, and I am free from the perception that I am not showing unrepresented sellers’ (FSBO) houses or those houses that are offering lower commissions in the MLS than many Realtors are used to. And – it formalizes the contractual relationship that I have to my clients and that my clients have to me.
You can find a sample (although a bit dated) Buyer-Broker Agreement here.
Updated – this is a current sample Buyer-Broker Agreement. Note that it takes two sections to warn/educate about Dual Agency.
My advice is this – do your due diligence. If you have questions about the process, what questions to ask (or if you have an experience you would like to share) please contact me anytime.
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And the coup de grace with regards to what blogs have over print – here are a bunch of very relevant links to help you get started in your research:
Here are some questions to ask when hiring a Realtor, courtesy of Redfin.
Do you like/do Dual Agency? One of my favorite posts I have written about Dual Agency is this – Dual Agency – Who Benefits? —- The Realtor.
Great Questions for a Seller to Ask
Questions to ask your (potential) agent in Charlottesville